Alec Baldwin sued by family of US Marine killed in Afghanistan

The family of a U.S. Marine killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan last summer has filed a defamation lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin, accusing Baldwin of calling them insurrectionists on Instagram after the Marine’s sister allegedly participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Insider.com reported. 

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming by the two sisters and widow of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum on Monday. 

According to the lawsuit, McCollum’s family said Baldwin’s Instagram comments “were false, outrageous, defamatory, irresponsible, vindictive, and caused — and continue to cause — plaintiffs severe emotional distress.” 

Rylee McCollum was among the 13 service members that were killed in an attack at the Kabul International Airport last August as the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan amid the end of nearly a two-decade war, according to Insider. 

The actor previously donated $5,000 to Jiennah McCollum and her newborn daughter “as a tribute to a fallen soldier” after Rylee’s death. 

Earlier this month, Baldwin commented on Roice McCollum’s Instagram post of her sharing a “throwback” photo of her in a crowd full of pro-Trump supporters in front of the Washington Monument on Jan. 6, the suit said. 

“Are you the same woman that I sent the $ to for your sister’s husband who was killed during the Afghanistan exit,” Baldwin wrote under McCollum’s post. 

The suit also said that the actor privately messaged McCollum, accusing her of being an “insurrectionist” and told her to “own it.”

“When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of real respect for his service to this country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter,” Baldwin said in one of the messages. 

“Protesting is perfectly legal in the country and I’ve already had my sit down with the FBI. Thanks, have a nice day!” McCollum replied to Baldwin, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit also alleges that Baldwin reposted McCollum’s photo, adding Roice received “hostile, aggressive, hateful messages from Baldwin’s followers” within minutes of him reposting it. 

The McCollum family has accused Baldwin of defamation, invasion of privacy and negligence and is seeking $25 million in damages, Insider noted.